Reinstalling Everything On Your Computer It Is Very Annoying

[travstatesmen 0]

Wow, you dragged this one out of the depths, minimcmonkey! The previous post to yours was posted on Aug 5 2005. That's practically graveyard robbing!

 

Up until recently I had a Windows 2000 domain on my home computer network and it was set up with a Remote Network Installation Services (RNIS) server so that computers that have the ability to boot from the network card using the Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) can have their Operating System installed across the network. Then there was the Software Installation and Management (SIM) services that allowed for applications to be "pushed" onto the client computer depending on which user logged on. These are features of Microsoft IntelliMirror, and requires a raft of new skills, such as:

slipstreaming updates into your i386 CAB source files

creating *.msi installation packages using WinINSTALL LE or a similar repackaging program

using Group Policy Objects to determine which users or groups are to have what software installed

roaming profiles that follow users from one computer to another on the network

This is something that I set up at home as a place to practice and hone my skills for use at work. Previously I used to make extensive use of Norton Ghost and multicasting of Ghost images on the network. RNIS and SIM are definitely much better than using Norton Ghost, and they are the technologies recommended by Microsoft for deploying operating systems and applications across the network on multiple computers.

 

I never had a Systems Management Server installation, and I'd be keen to hear from anyone with experience with SMS.

[Variablez 0]

This has happened to me too! Its extremely annoying having to reinstall all of your favourite programs on your program and sometimes takes all of your spare time. I wish we could have some EASY backup software, put it on a disk quickly and done instead of having to do it all again then forgetting somthing then installing then forgetting then installing etc.. it takes time and then you remember another and another and by the end your so tired of it you stop.

[danhombre 0]

I restore my laptop to factory settings every few months to stop it getting sluggish, but I'm looking into the Acronis software now! Thanks!

[Echo_of_thunder 1]

I know how you feel. I have had to reinstall so many times over the years too.

[scout 0]

I can sympathize with all of you, Windows is so unstable and sloppy it drives me crazy. The thing that I found to satiate my thirst was Linux. Linux makes everything soooo much easier. I'm not saying that it doesn't get sluggish after installing hundreds of programs (99% of which are free), but once I remove them they are gone and the system returns to normal. I'm not saying that Linux is foolproof, in fact there are probably many more ways to mess up your computer but almost anything is fixable (just don't chmod your root to 666...). In fact I ended up corrupting my current kde just last week. If I needed an install disk I would have been without my graphical programs probably for good. Fortunately, all I had to do is type 'apt-get install kde' in the command prompt I was able to get to and poof! Everything is magically downloaded and setup for me. All my programs are intact, my documents still there, every setting untouched from the moment before the problem occured. I still marvel at how many tools are so easily obtainable for linux without needing to keep install CDs around, or even needing to spend money at all. That's right, any software program that you would need is available in linux for free, mabye it's name is a little different but the functionality is the same. I hate to sound like an advertisement but everything spoken of here except the heat and sand of the desert has been solved with other operating systems.P.S. Saint Michael, if you have those hard drives still you should try running a program called Spinrite on it. They have a free trial version you can download just to see. I hear it has some amazing capabilities for restoring damage to hard drives, whether physical or emotional damage. I've used it a couple times myself and it certainly improves the condition, although I haven't had a chance to use it on a completely fritzed hard drive.

[joeblogg 0]

i had to do that a few times but i use a portable hard drive to back up my stuff so i just put everything back on. i still had to re instal the programs but i don't have many programs on my pc just thmese and cursors and stuff so it only took me the best part of an hour.